KetoFLEX 12/3 Kitchen: Bringing Back the Old-Fashioned Picnic

An old-fashioned picnic is a relaxing way to enjoy the last of the summer sunshine while safely social distancing. Many of us are old enough to remember when picnics were commonplace. Unfortunately, with the advent of fast food and our fast-paced lifestyles, they’ve almost become a relic of the past. Use September as an excuse to bring back the slow, lazy days of summer with an old-fashioned picnic. Put together a beautiful picnic basket with fresh linens, a cozy blanket, thermos, and utensils. Find a quiet spot in nature, spread out your blanket, and enjoy fresh seasonal food with those you love.

Pack that picnic basket with our KetoFLEX 12/3-friendly Comforting Zucchini Bread (recipe below) or include a Crabapple Walnut Salad using Slow-Roasted Sunday Chicken, and Ginger Sun Tea, which are recipes available to members of our PreCODE and ReCODE programs.

Comforting Zucchini Bread

There is nothing more soothing on a crisp fall day than the smell of cinnamon and bread baking. Fill your home and belly up with this zucchini bread recipe. Enjoy it with an optional layer of ghee on top and with a mug of your favorite tea or our pumpkin spice latte.

Yields: 16 slices

Ingredients:

• 2 to 3 small zucchini, USDA organic
• 2 ¼ cup almond flour, blanched if sensitive to lectins
• 2 Tbsp coconut flour
• 1/2 tsp pure monk fruit sweetener, pure monk is a recommended brand
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 ½ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• ¼ tsp salt
• 5 large pastured eggs, beaten
• ½ cup coconut oil, butter (melted), ghee or avocado oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ cup pecans, chopped
• ½ cup walnuts, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Line a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
3. Grate the zucchini finely using a cheese grater. Squeeze out the extra water from the zucchini by pressing them with your hands or between two paper towels. It’s important to remove ALL of the water.. Set aside 1 ½ cups (firmly packed) zucchini into a bowl.
4. In a large bowl, mix the almond flour, coconut flour, sweetener, and all the dry spices and set aside.
5. In a separate bowl, mix in the eggs, coconut oil or butter or avocado oil, and the vanilla extract.
6. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and mix well.
7. Add in the zucchini and nuts and mix.
8. Transfer the batter into the lined loaf pan and bake for 50 to 70 minutes.
9. At about 50 minutes, stick a knife or toothpick in the middle and see if it’s ready. If it doesn’t come out clean, and there are a lot of crumbs sticking to the knife or toothpick, it needs more time.
10. Let the loaf cool for 20 minutes before removing from the pan and allow the bread to fully cool (three hours or so) before slicing, or it will crumble! But if you don’t care and just want to eat it warm and fresh out the oven, go ahead.